{"id":9657,"date":"2023-11-12T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-12T11:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/?p=9657"},"modified":"2023-11-13T08:23:37","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T08:23:37","slug":"can-you-eat-honey-from-a-dead-hive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/can-you-eat-honey-from-a-dead-hive\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Eat Honey From A Dead Hive?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you have a beehive on your property that recently became inactive, you might be wondering, \u201ccan you eat honey from a dead hive?\u201d<\/em> In most cases, yes, you can – but there are some caveats and tips to heed if you decide to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figuring Out Why Your Hive Died – and What to Do Next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"why<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finding a dead beehive can be incredibly discouraging, especially to the novice beekeeper, but ultimately, it\u2019s a part of raising bees that you need to be prepared for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colonies often die, and while they represent both a waste of money and time, this shouldn\u2019t discourage you from raising bees again in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, before you do anything with the hive, the honey, or its other contents, it\u2019s important to do some investigating to figure out why your hive died in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will help you identify whether the hive death could have been prevented or if it was out of your hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your first step is to figure out a timeline. When did the hive die? If you check your hive very regularly, such as once per week, this should be relatively easy for you to pinpoint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you got out of the habit of checking on your bees, it may be tougher for you to tell when the bees died.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often, beekeepers fail to identify dead hives right away because they don\u2019t do regular inspections or because the hive dies during the winter, when the hives are more or less dormant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, you may not even realize your hive has died until too late because we see bees moving around the hive – but these are robbers and not residents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspect the Hive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once you realize your hive has died, it’s time to do a thorough inspection. In some cases, you might see dead bees there, but in others, the hive will be totally empty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes this means that the bees left the hive on their own, but in other cases, it means that predators like wasps have cleaned out the dead bees for you. At least you can cross that chore off your list!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at the hive\u2019s bottom board. If there are droppings from creatures like mice, this will be a good indication of what has killed the bees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might also be able to sift through the dead bees to see if there are signs of varroa mites or other pests, which will indicate that your pest control program wasn\u2019t successful.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may even see small hive beetles and\/or their larvae (if this is the culprit, your combs will contain lots of larvae and slime). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you notice wax moth larvae in the hive, don\u2019t assume that these were the reason behind your hive\u2019s demise. Moths often move in and lay their eggs, but do not cause colony failure because a healthy colony will simply evict them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last but not least, inspect the hive to see if there is a sign of disease. The most significant one to be worried about is American Foulbrood<\/a>. This highly transmissible disease will affect bees in the late larval or capped brood stage of development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of this, you will see dark brown bee larvae and the tongue protruding from the larvae. Brood cells can be ropey, with decaying larvae ultimately drying out and becoming a brown scale that\u2019s tough to remove from the hive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If AFB is the cause of your hive\u2019s death, it\u2019s important that you not reuse or use any equipment, comb, or honey from the hive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do You Clean a Dead Bee Hive?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The extent of clean-up that you will need to do in your dead hive will depend on exactly what caused the deaths. If you suspect that AFB was the cause, don\u2019t even try to clean the hive – get rid of everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if disease isn\u2019t the cause of your bees\u2019 death, you can use most of the honeycomb and other equipment inside your hives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove frames that don\u2019t have any damage from pests like wax moths. Remove the old, dark-colored comb and replace it with a new foundation. If you suspect a pest infestation, you can clean the frames simply by freezing them for a few days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After you\u2019ve removed everything valuable from the dead hive, you will be left with a wooden box. You can rinse this in a light bleach solution. Any wax moth cocoons can be scraped off and discarded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re still not sure how to best clean out your dead beehive, take a look at this video. It has some helpful tips and focuses primarily on cleaning out a beehive in the early spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-yIqYvZL72M<\/a>